Low Carb Hummus (Bean Free)

I want to say first off that this genius idea is not mine. I actually found this a few years ago when I was exploring raw foods.

This recipe is lightly adapted from Matt Amsden’s book RAWvolution. Interestingly, there are a lot of raw food recipes that fit perfectly into a low carb lifestyle. Eating raw eliminates processed foods and grains – focusing on healthy fats and using vegetables in creative ways which naturally leads to some low carb friendly dishes. This hummus, which uses zucchini in place of the chickpeas is an excellent example. I was skeptical when I first tried it because I really love a classic hummus.

I was very surprised when I made it at how good and…well…hummusy it was! It’s perfect as a dip for low carb veggies or these flax crackers. You could even use it as a condiment for low carb wraps, a dressing for salads, or even a sauce for chicken or lamb dishes. I would normally eat hummus with falafel, which I love, and an idea just popped into my head to try making it with ground cauliflower instead of chickpeas. Could be brilliant or a total bust – I will try it soon and get back to you on that! (For those of you who have asked me where I get my ideas, this is usually how it happens, then one idea leads to another, and another, etc, etc. Sometimes it comes out great, other times….not so much!)

Ok back to the hummus! This is pretty simple to make but to get the right consistency you’ll need a blender. I used my vitamix which is pretty powerful so I don’t know how well a traditional blender will work – hopefully ok since zucchini blends easily. A food processor might also work but I’ve never tried it – so if you try it please report back on how it came out!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Oh, yum! I just made this with yellow squash instead of zukes (The zucchinis were literally the size and shape of a cigar at the store. LOL) BUT something has a bitter aftertaste. Any idea what that might be? I totally know it’s not the fault of the recipe at all! Just wondering if it happened to anyone but me and what it ended up being, if so. I’ll definitely make it again and might press through with this batch anyway, but any ideas would be welcome!

Incidentally, as a tahini lover, I would not suggest buying Trader Joe’s tahini from the shelf (unrefrigerated). Of the ones I’ve used before, this one has the most sunflower butter-y taste ever. Not ideal for hummus or “hummus.” :-) Learn from my mistake!

Thanks for the awesome recipe! I know it’s something I did wrong and I will absolutely be trying it again!

You may be surprised when you compute the net carbs from hummus made from beans vs the carbs in this recipe, that they are almost the same. In our field we feel the nutrition from beans is invaluable–the people who live the longest in the world and without chronic disease (the “Blue Zones) have a common denominator of eating a cup of beans or more almost every day.

Yum, wow, fantastic! Just made this tonight and it was awesome! Great recipe. I eat low carb and my husband eats raw so this was perfect for the both of us to eat. I would have never know it wasn’t hummus. We followed they exact recipe but just added to the top mince garlic and oregano. Also ate with carrot that were crinkled cut (like a chip) and raw flax chips. Thanks for the recipe.

Hiya! Where I live we don’t really use ‘cups’, but I’m dying to make this hummus! Could you tell me how many grams of zucchini you used? Or if you used one zucchini or a half or two? …Anything? Thank you!

Melissa: Just came across this today and as hummus has been off my menu since going low carb, I was eager to try it! WHOA…did it make a LOT of hummus!! LOL But, it’s so darned tasty, getting through it may not be a problem. What do you think the fridge/shelf life would be? Also, as it made such a large amount, I decided to divide it in half and try half the batch with a bunch of fresh dill I had that needed to be used. YUMMY!! Can’t decide which I like better! I added about 3 Tblsp. of fresh dill to half of your recipe. I don’t have a high-powered blender, but put it all together in my food processor, then finished the job in my magic bullet to get a finer consistency. Lovin’ it!

This was the first recipe I tried on your website and it was a huge success, thank you! I made it with shredded cauliflower (alternative suggested) and it worked perfectly – fluffy texture, awesome taste. Husband loved it so am making another batch now.

OMG thank you so much for this recipe!!! YUM!! You’ve given me another great recipe for my Vitamix. This hummus turned out so awesome even without peeling the zucchini. I so enjoyed it with the Simply Sprouted Way Better No Salt Naked Blues tortilla chips. So happy! (This is the 1st posting ever on a food blog.) Thank you!

Thank you so much for sharing, this will become a staple in our household I am sure! Had someone just given me some of this without telling me what it is, I would have never guessed it to be anything but chickpea – based. Fantastic idea. I made mine in a food processor, by the way, and was quite happy with the texture. Not completely smooth, but not lumpy, either…. just…. a bit of texture… which you find in hummus quite often, anyway, I suppose… I was happy with it this way, anyway.

Love this. It quickly became one of my staple items to have on hand. It makes a huge difference in getting me to eat enough veggies! I noticed that one out of every few batches was thicker. It occurred to me that when I open a new can or jar of tahini, the tahini goes into the blender at room temp. Maybe it more thoroughly blends in, then thickens everything up when cold? Tried leaving my tahini out all day yesterday, and I got a nice thick batch. If my zukes seem extra moist I let them dry on towels after chopping.

I just made this in my Vita Mix. The taste was wonderful. It was a bit runny so I threw in a couple of florets of cauliflower. Did not change the taste at all. I am going to use it as a staple for wraps too. Great with Jicama to dip with. Thank you!

just found your recipe via Pinterest and whipped me up some hummous! thank you for this – I think I may put a wee bit less tahini, just because it is quite a strong taste with this amount (or maybe I needed more courgette?). If you don’t mind I’ll probably link back to you when I mention it on my blog?

Great recipe…I love Hummus and have been looking for a recipe that would fit into my low carb way of eating…so thanks so much for sharing this one. I added approximately 10 Kalamata Olives to the zuccini…I made 1/2 the ingredients because I did not want to make a lot in case I messed it up…which I didn’t. I put in a lot of garlic because I love garlic…I did not have any Tahini in the house which I am sure would make it a bit thicker…not that it was runny, but it could’ve used some sort of binding substance…I follow the Wheat Belly low carb eating system so I have to be mindful of additives….any suggestions other than Tahini?

I love your idea of adding olives! Not sure what you could use to thicken it other than tahini. Tahini is sesame paste and a natural product so not sure that would conflict with the Wheat Belly principles. If you find an alternative I’d love to hear about it!

I’m on the Dukan Diet right now – so I’m currently not allowed to eat the following ingredients the recipie inherits:

OilTahini

I tried the recipie without those two, but added after blending the Zucchini 250 Gramm of smoked tofu! The colour and taste appered to be just like real hummus and it has exactly the consistency I knew from real hummus. This way the recipie has NO CRAB!

After letting it steep over night it was even more delicious! Still, can’t believe it… Simply love it!

Hi Melissa, indeed I had very fresh garlic, so that could have been it. Roast red peppers sound very good to me! Keep experimenting, I’ll be back for more… What do you think of a combination of egg plant and zucchini? I might try that the next time.

Hi Esther! I bet the eggplant and zucchini would work great together! Baba Ganoush is a dip made with eggplant that I’ve been meaning to make for the blog but I never thought of adding the zucchini as well – might have to add some just to see how it comes out!

This sounds like an really interesting option, and I’m going to try it, but one thing needs to be said about all the versions of “hummus” that are all over the internet: “hummus”, by definition, are chick peas. Hummus (in Arabic)=chick peas.

Hey Esther, glad you liked it! Maybe my garlic wasn’t as fresh as yours so the flavor was muted? I love it garlicky and lemony! I’m going to experiment with some other flavors next time I make it though. Maybe roasted red peppers or cilantro/jalapeno which is a flavor Trader Joe’s makes that I love in their traditional hummus…

I just made it, and eating it with cucumber sticks while typing. The taste is really hummusy, though I would use less garlic the next time. I already used 2 cloves instead of 4, and it’s still very overpowering. And i really love garlic. So, next time will be better. But thanks for the tip!

There are also various sizes of garlic cloves. The garlic I usually get in the winter has small cloves (no more than 1/2″ wide at the widest point), but the summertime garlic around here has much larger cloves, especially the outer ones (1″ to 1.5″ at the widest point). I always count those larger cloves as 2-4 “cloves” of garlic, depending on their size. I also noticed that the winter garlic is very white, while the summer garlic has purple veining on the husk.

I just started a low carb diet this week and stumbled onto your recipe. Made it today and loved it!!! I used a food processor and thought it turned out just fine, but maybe people like it slightly smoother

I just made this, thanks for the recipe. The flavor seems right on (humus-y), but there’s something about the consistency when using the food processor. I put mine in a food processor and it was a little tiny lumpy and just “off”. Threw the whole thing in the blender and it came out great!Thanks again!

Thanks for sharing your experience with the food processor! I always use the blender so it’s good to know for other readers that the food processor is definitely not as good. Glad you liked it once the consistency was right!

I have tried a version like this with broccoli and zucchini… the raw broccoli flavor was really strong and I ended up throwing most of it away and feeling horrible for wasting food. You have inspired me to try again without the broccoli!

Looks great! I saw a recipe for a low-carb hummus using eggplant, but unfortunately, didn’t bookmark it. Another idea for you to try :-)Looking forward to your cauliflower hummus. In the meantime, will try this one!

The eggplant puree is usually called baba ganoush and I will definitely be making that soon too! The cauliflower falafel I’m going to try making this week – I hope it works because I really love falafel!

Cannot wait to try it! This post came a day late as I made normal hummus yesterday, served with your flax crackers. (Love the crackers, btw, and I also made the pizza crust again last night, with rosemary). I have cauliflower in the microwave right now, so I can make your bangers & mash! I just adore your blog!!

[…] off the blocks is Mellissa of I Breathe I’m Hungry with a delicious low-carb hummus that is entirely bean free. The main ingredient is zuchinni and while it looks like the “real thing” it is low […]

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My name is Mellissa Sevigny, and I use my culinary powers for good here at IBIH by creating delicious and satisfying low carb & keto recipes. If you’re looking to lose weight, feel amazing, AND eat some of the best food you’ve ever tasted – you’ve come to the right place. Welcome! Dig deeper →